Be Ready

 

What is my choice: A planned visit from a friend? She drops in and surprises me? I know she is coming but not when?

A planned visit would have me baking a treat. A surprise might be embarrassing if my home was in disarray. The third option would have me diligent and trying to be ready for that visit anytime, day or night. I know Jesus is coming, but God in His wisdom did not tell us when. He gives indications that are vague — but every generation wonders if this is it.

Daniel illustrates the readiness that God’s people should have for events they know will happen. In his case, he found out how long his people would be in captivity in Babylon and reacted by getting ready:

in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. (Daniel 9:2–3)

Today’s devotional stops there to make a point: God’s sovereignty doesn’t eliminate the need for prayer. This relationship between our prayers and what God does is a mystery. We cannot know for sure if God does certain things even if we don’t pray, but He prompts us to talk to Him about everything. For instance, doctors told a dear friend’s wife her hubby would die. She sadly began planning a funeral. However, many prayed, and he is at home recovering. Would that happen if no one prayed? We cannot know. We only know God is involved in how we pray.

As for Daniel, he found out that the time was near for his people to return to their homeland then prayed, first honoring God and then confessing sin:

I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules . . .

This confession continued and was specific. It included praise, why they were in Babylon and how they deserved to be there because of their disobedience. He asked God to turn His wrath away and show mercy to them. (See Daniel 9:4–19)

At the end Daniel said, “O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.” (Daniel 9:19) He knew his prayer was fitting into God’s plan.

Lately, God shows me a mystery; I pray from my heart and am surprised at the words that come out. Even if the specific will of God is not revealed, when I ask God to surprise me, the answers are beyond anything I could have imagined. Daniel knew the seventy years were nearly up and prayed accordingly. I have not been told when Jesus is coming back, but I’m praying as if it will be soon.

Certainly, I need to pray like Daniel in that God’s people need to honor the Lord and confess our sins. The children of the Lord do good things, yet we have many failures too, failure to stand up for what we believe, failure to take care of the needy in our midst, failure to live for Christ and instead live far too much for our own gain. Too many Christians are not ready for Him to return and end our time here.

Daniel prayed: “We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against you. To us, O Lord, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you.”

To God belongs mercy and forgiveness. He is worthy of our obedience, yet we often take His grace for granted and are busy doing our own thing. We are dismayed at the world’s events, yet did we earn these calamities by our disobedience, by not seeking His face and His favor? God knows where repentance is needed.

Jesus, this devotional says, “Never before have world events pointed so dramatically to the nearness of the return of our Lord . . . this is not the time for complacency . . . but careful Bible study and fervent prayer.” You are urging me to pray more and give great attention to You. Guide me in both — that I might honor You.

MORE: Read Daniel 9 and pray as he did for my own life and the lives of others.